Nightwatcher

Chapter 305: In The Tomb

# 305. In The Tomb

Zhong Li was now suffering the effects of heavenly retribution, so it was out of the question to leave her outside. Xu Qi’an was always a man with compassion for beauty.

But bringing her into the tomb could carry the risk of a TPK. Therefore, Daoist Jinlian’s decision was the safest option, and everyone unanimously agreed.

That night, mishaps were frequent.

As Zhong Li meditated cross-legged, a large wild boar suddenly burst out of the grass next to her, giving her a brutal charge. Birds flying overhead dropped a load of golden fertilizer right as they passed over her head.

A large tree was suddenly blown over by the wind, crashing down on her head with a loud thud; a stray arrow from a hunter on the mountain at night nearly killed her…

It was tragic, truly tragic. The men who witnessed Zhong Li’s ordeal fell silent.

The men were mute, the women in tears.

Finally, they saw the light of dawn. Zhong Li compiled a list of items to ward off yin energy, and sent Qian You to buy them in the city.

When Qian You returned with the supplies, Zhong Li was still sleeping. Xu Qi’an lifted her onto his back, following Daoist Jinlian and the others toward the mountains in the south.

“Mnn…” Zhong Li mumbled in her sleep.

“Keep sleeping. I’ll wake you when we reach the tomb entrance,” Xu Qi’an whispered.

Comforted, Zhong Li continued sleeping soundly.

After the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn, Qian You led the group to a mountain hollow, where he expertly found the entrance to the tomb, hidden by a cover of branches.

Qian You cleared away the branches, revealing a narrow passage just wide enough for one person.

“Let’s head in,” Daoist Jinlian said.

“Alright.”

Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan nodded, then turned to look at Xu Qi’an along with Daoist Jinlian.

“Give me one good reason!” Xu Qi’an said seriously.

“A Refining Spirit martial artist’s spirit sense can detect danger in advance,” Daoist Jinlian replied with a smile.

“The indestructible Vajra body’s protection is unmatched,” Chu Yuanzhen added.

“...Fine, you’ve convinced me.” Xu Qi’an bent over and entered the passage with Zhong Li on his back.

The four followed behind, keeping a relatively safe distance.

The passage started narrow, just big enough to pass through, but after several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up.

Exiting the tunnel, Xu Qi’an stepped onto some bricks, probably from the wall when tomb robbers had dug their way in.

Clack, clack…

He dug out his flint and steel, and lit the torch he had prepared earlier. Flames flickered.

*This tomb has been opened for nearly three months, allowing air to exchange with the outside, the oxidation within the tomb is very high… this won’t do, it’ll destroy all the archaeological artefacts in the tomb — there’s things that will break down as soon as they touch oxygen… heh, as if I really need to pass an audit, thinking such nonsense excuses…* Xu Qi’an scoffed internally.

Footsteps sounded behind him as Daoist Jinlian and the others emerged into the tomb, igniting their own torches to light up the darkness.

Xu Qi’an bent down and picked up a brick, squeezing it to find that its hardness was far greater than he expected.

“What kind of brick is this?” he asked.

Daoist Jinlian moved his torch closer, studying it carefully for a few moments. “Qinggang brick.”

“?”

Xu Qi’an looked at him, puzzled.

“It’s a rare type of stone, known for its durability and resistance to weathering,” Chu Yuanzhen explained. “I’ve read about it in books, but this is my first time seeing it in person.”

Xu Qi’an nodded. “This is probably just the edge of the main tomb. Judging by these bricks, the entire tomb may be constructed from Qinggang stone bricks.

“The tomb’s owner must be even more distinguished than we expected.”

_No wonder he’s a genius at solving cases — sharp thinking, exceptional analytical skills,_ Chu Yuanzhen thought.

The group searched the chamber and discovered twelve coffins, along with four corpses that had been there for a few days, giving off a faint odour of decay.

“Three of them are from the gang, and the fourth was a hired expert,” Qian You murmured.

Though he was used to high risks and frequent crises in this line of work, he still felt a heavy weight in his heart.

Xu Qi’an set Zhong Li down, handed her a torch, and squatted to inspect the bodies. “Faces ashen, lips black, they died to poison.”

“There’s no poisonous gas in the air,” Zhong Li observed.

Xu Qi’an nodded and quickly stripped the clothes off the deceased, revealing several small puncture marks on one of the arms, as if bitten by some kind of insect.

“They’re in the coffins. These men must have disturbed the coffins,” Chu Yuanzhen suddenly said.

Xu Qi’an’s ears twitched, picking up faint, dense wriggling sounds coming from inside the stone coffins.

It seemed the stone coffins were breeding grounds for venomous insects.

“Shall we open the coffins?” Hengyuan asked, looking at Daoist Jinlian.

Daoist Jinlian, in turn, looked at Chu Yuanzhen.

Chu Yuanzhen nodded, flicking a finger to release a burst of sword energy that struck the stone coffin, stopping the wriggling noise inside.

With a wave of his sleeve, he opened the coffin lid, and a nauseating stench flooded the air.

All present were experts, impervious to such toxins. Zhong Li opened her hand, revealing a brown pill and said to Qian You, “This is an anti-poison pill.”

“Thank you, Miss,” Qian You said gratefully, swallowing it.

The four members of the Heaven and Earth Society stood around the stone coffin, examining the interior. Countless jointed poisonous insects had been smashed to a pulp, black and brown fluid splattering the coffin walls.

In addition to the bugs crushed by Chu Yuanzhen’s force, there was a severely deformed skeleton inside, its age indeterminate, though clearly ancient.

_It’s a shame there’s no technology in this world to date this skeleton,_ Xu Qi’an thought.

“There are no burial goods, so these coffins should be the ones belonging to the attendants buried with the tomb owner,” Chu Yuanzhen said.

“The Great Feng doesn’t have a practice of burying the living with the dead, right?” Xu Qi’an asked, curious.

“The custom of burying the living has been around since ancient times, though the exact origins are unclear. The practice of burial sacrifices was officially abolished 2,123 years ago in the Great Yi Dynasty, before the Confucian sage was born.”

Without hesitation, Chu Yuanzhen recalled the relevant knowledge and answered without missing a beat.

“That means this tomb is over two thousand years old,” said Daoist Jinlian.

After searching around fruitlessly, they left the chamber with their torches and ventured further inside. Along the way, they occasionally encountered corpses, each fallen to some trap.

After a while, they entered a larger chamber. The ceiling was cloaked in shadow above, and darkness stretched endlessly before them.

Xu Qi'an swung his torch, revealing bodies strewn across the ground. Some were recent, their flesh still intact; others were skeletal and dressed in ragged, unidentifiable clothing. None of the skeletal remains were whole—heads torn off, limbs severed, bodies hacked to pieces.

Here and there lay opened coffins.

Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place. Grave robbers had disturbed the coffins, awakening the dormant corpses.

“What’s with these zombies? Isn’t corpse manipulation the purview of the Church of the Warlock God?”

Xu Qi'an the “culturally ignorant” was the first to speak, casting his gaze toward unopened coffins in the distance.

Zhong Li shook her head. “These zombies have nothing to do with the Church of the Warlock God; they have merely been nourished by yin energy over time and transformed into undead. Fortunately, they’re already destroyed, saving us a lot of trouble.”

As soon as she finished, a series of loud “bangs” echoed through the chamber—the sound of coffin lids being pushed aside and crashing to the ground.

In the darkness, silhouettes rose, emaciated figures with sharp, blackened nails and eerie, emerald-green eyes glinting malevolently.

“Amitabha Buddha!”

Hengyuan chanted a Buddhist prayer and strode forward, dispatching a zombie with a single, explosive punch to the head.

After eliminating the zombies, they discovered murals on the walls on either side of the chamber.

On the left wall, the mural depicted people in ancient attire, bowing and prostrating before a high platform.

The mural on the right was far less conventional, showing countless pairs of men and women engaging in acts of intimacy. They maintained fixed postures, indulging in passion. Some of the positions were unfamiliar even to Xu Qi'an, despite his extensive tutelage from his hard-drive wives.

The bodies in the mural were outlined with meridian flow diagrams.

“This appears to be an ancient sexual cultivation technique,” said Daoist Jinlian solemnly.

“An ancient sexual cultivation technique?”[^1]

Chu Yuanzhen had some understanding but not in depth, while Hengyuan and Xu Qi'an were both in the dark.

After a moment of thought, Daoist Jinlian explained, “The Daoist Venerable is revered as the origin of all magicks, possessing vast knowledge. The orthodox Daoist schools divide his teachings into the three Sects of Heaven, Earth, and Man, yet many lesser branches also emerged.

“One of these branches practiced dual-cultivation, blending yin and yang to pursue the great Dao together. At its height, this sect rivalled the three orthodox schools, attracting endless worshippers, including noble officials who longed for the path to immortality. Some noblewomen even lingered at Daoist temples, willingly offering themselves for dual cultivation. According to the Earth Sect’s records, even some women of high status were among them.”

*Wow, this sect really knew how to party… No, no, that’s my mind going astray. For them, seeking the Dao was the main goal, with everything else mere distractions…* Xu Qi'an was shocked, examining the murals intently, trying to memorize both the postures and the flow of meridians.

Hengyuan shook his head, his gaze clear as he looked at the murals, unmoved and unshaken in his Buddhist resolve.

“This technique could certainly aid cultivation, though finding a partner skilled in it would be difficult,” commented the Zhuangyuan.

Dual cultivation required a partner adept in the art—it was not as simple as picking someone at a brothel.

“Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, transforming into the Five Elements… Dual cultivation was originally an orthodox path to the Dao. However, while technique is emotionless, people are not. The progress in dual cultivation was slow and required practitioners to remain firm and not be swayed by desire.

“Eventually, some among them, eager for quick results, created the art of ‘essence absorption,’ leading them into the demonic path. They deceived female followers, imprisoning them in the temple for absorption, and kidnapped women everywhere, inciting widespread anger.

“Finally, they provoked the imperial army and outraged Jianghu heroes… and were thus eradicated. Today, fragments of dual-cultivation techniques still exist within Daoism, though as incomplete pieces, they have little practical use. To think, this place holds a complete version of the dual-cultivation technique.”

Daoist Jinlian sighed.

“Why would a complete dual-cultivation technique be here, though?” asked Xu Qi'an.

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[^1]: See [this wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoist_sexual_practices) for further reading. Please do not open at work.